I have mentioned that we should begin any attempt to institute familial qualifications for the eldership with children who have been excommunicated. We could begin here for pragmatic reasons (we have to start somewhere), but I want to argue that there are exegetical grounds for having this be the place where we draw the basic …
A Reasonable Expectation
One of things we need to do in our discussion of family qualifications for ministry is examine some of our background assumptions. As with many other issues, our understanding of Paul’s requirement here (1 Tim. 3:2-5; Tit. 1:5-6) is affected not only by what the text clearly says, but by the eyes we bring to …
With Laces Untied
So let’s begin our work on this tough topic by getting two obvious things on the table. The first obvious thing is that the apostle Paul teaches us that how a man behaves in his home is a predictor or indicator of how he will behave in the church. If you want a godly and …
The Neglected Qualification
For various reasons, I need to begin an extended series of posts on “the neglected qualification.” The spiritual state of the preacher’s kids has long been proverbial, and not in a good way, and yet we continue to have the following in our Bibles. “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife …
Representation in Church Government
My friend Steven Wedgeworth has some good thoughts about head of household voting here. Voting by household is fairly common in the CREC, but at the same time it is not so settled as to have no discussion swirling around it. So in addition to what Steven says, let me throw some loose pocket change …
The Right Kind of Bright in Their Eyes
Many conservative Christians know that the culture war we are fighting is a desperate battle for our children. Now fighting for your children and grandchildren is a noble enterprise. It is what we are called to do. When such fighting is necessary, as in a fallen world it constantly is, it is something we are …
Some Kind of Zen Presbyterianism . . .
I received a good question from a friend about yesterday’s post concerning Rachel Held Evans and communion, a question that had to do with how we fence the Table. In order to be able to get at the issues involved, let me remove it entirely from this dispute about RHE so we can grasp the …
Leaving the 99
Over the years I have written a good deal about one of the great neglected qualifications for the ministry, which is the spiritual state of the minister’s family and home. Paul tells us plainly that a man whose house is not in order is not qualified to be a steward in the household of God. …
Optimism About the Future of the Church
A doctrinal emphasis that you are very likely to find in CREC churches is, oddly enough, a doctrinal point that is not actually required by any of our approved doctrinal statements. When it comes to the question of eschatology (what will happen at the end of the world), the only thing that the universal church …
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches
Here’s something you all can help us spread the word on. I spent today in the gallery of the CREC Council meeting in Minneapolis. Yesterday all seven presbyteries met, and today two delegates from each presbytery formed our tri-annual seating of Council. One of the more significant items up for a decision today was a …